Economy

What’s important in Asia this week

A Chinese policeman stands guard in front of the Great Hall of the People during sunrise.
Andrew Wong | Getty Images

China's Third Plenum stands out as the event to watch for Asian markets this week, while a slew of data out of India and third-quarter economic growth data from Japan may also be in focus.

A four-day meeting of China's top leaders concludes on Tuesday and expectations are high that Beijing is likely to use the opportunity to unveil the next wave of major economic reforms in the world's second biggest economy.

(Read more: What you need to know about China's Third Plenum)

The meeting has been held under tight security and any reports on the plenum by China's official Xinhua news agency are likely to be scrutinized closely.

All eyes on on China's reform process
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All eyes on on China's reform process

"[China's President] Xi Jingping has promised us that China is serious about reforms. Everybody has been looking forward to this plenum, but it will be a case of looking at what they do and that will be more important than what's said," Geoff Lewis, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management told CNBC's "Cash Flow" on Friday.

It's also shaping up to be an eventful week for India, with the release of October trade, consumer price and whole sale price inflation data all on the calendar.

India's central bank hiked interest rates 25 basis points last month to contain high inflation and this week's data could shed light on whether the Reserve Bank of India is likely to act again soon.

(Read more: India targets inflation, but high prices may persist)

The wholesale price index (WPI) rose 6.4 percent in September from a year earlier, its highest level in seven months. Economists polled by Reuters forecast the consumer price index rose 9.90 percent in the year to October compared with a rise of 9.84 percent the previous month.

Why Asia needs to get reforms in order
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Why Asia needs to get reforms in order

In Japan, meanwhile third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data are due out on Thursday and is expected to show growth momentum in the world's third biggest economy has slowed.

"Japanese September quarter GDP growth on Thursday is expected to have slowed to 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter after a couple of quarters around 1 percent," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital, in a note. "Leading indicators point to a rebound in the current quarter, though."

There could be some focus on the Philippines in the aftermath of a devastating storm.

(Read more: How to help Typhoon Haiyan survivors)

The week ahead will also see more earnings results from a number of major corporates in the region. Singapore Airlines releases its latest earnings report Tuesday, followed by Hong-Kong listed Tencent on Wednesday and Singapore Telecommunications on Thursday.

— By CNBC.com's Dhara Ranasinghe; Follow her on Twitter @DharaCNBC